Oh, so now the space-man's got a sword made of light, is that it?" Alex thought, watching him closely. He chuckled. That might delay his death.

Alex stomped the ground in front of him with enough force to crack the roof, but Starkiller didn't even flinch. Unbeknownst to him, Alex had sent a black tendril through the building, which would harden and impale him in less than a second. And if that didn't work...

The black spike shot from the ground, but the man had somehow sensed it coming, and he cut it in half before it could do any damage. Without retracting it into his body again, Alex dove toward the man and swung his own sword, but his light sword was the only thing he managed to hit when his target ducked under his swing.

Alex grunted in pain, repairing the singed part of his arm-blade and hardening the whole thing to resist the heat in the near future. But before he could even finish modifying the weapon, he felt searing heat punch a hole in his gut. In that instant, Alex had an idea. So, when the space-man pulled his sword out, Alex played dead and fell on his back, trying to make it convincing.

He heard a sigh. "Alright Juno, I think he's down. You might want to hurry, though; he could die if you take too long."

"Alright, Starkiller, I'm on my way. Just try to make sure he doesn't die, okay? Eclipse out."

Starkiller, Alex thought. The name almost fits him. Alex forced himself to keep his eyes closed as he pumped strength into his arms and legs. One shot at this, he reasoned. When he was sure that Starkiller was close, he abruptly slammed the ground with his arms, sending out a shockwave that knocked Starkiller into the air. Before Starkiller knew what was going on, Alex kicked with both legs, sending him clear across the street and over three buildings.

Alex jumped to his feet with a smile. That went well. He put a hand on his stomach, closing up the charred hole neatly. I need some more biomass, he thought, looking at the street below. Still, hundreds of infected stumbled along the street. Nobody will miss them, he thought, and he jumped off of the building.

Not thirty seconds later, he leapt to the top of the building across the street, where he'd last seen Starkiller. Suddenly, he felt the ground fall away as he was lifted into the air. He saw Starkiller to his right, holding his hands toward him. Alex once again used the whipfist, shooting his arm out toward Starkiller's leg. Quick as a flash, Starkiller cut off the end of the tentacle, but it continued forward, wrapping itself around his ankle and pulling hard. With Starkiller's concentration broken, Alex fell to the ground.

Alex got up quickly, and saw a glare of red coming toward him. He tried to dodge it, but the white-hot sword still cut his right arm off at the elbow. He shot an angry glare at Starkiller, whose face held a victorious smirk as his weapon returned to him. The smirk turned into a glare, though, when Alex reformed his hand and made both of his arms into claws. He barely heard Starkiller mutter a curse word as he dashed toward him once more.

Alex began to swipe at Starkiller's head with intense fury. He could see the concentration on his face as he dodged, ducked, and blocked, but while Alex was untiring, it seemed that Starkiller would never get tired, either. So, Alex switched his weapons. After Starkiller hopped backwards to try to get his bearings, Alex put a few tons' worth of matter into each hand, turning them into enormous, club-like masses. He couldn't swing half as fast, but after remaking his natural suit of armor, he wasn't too worried about getting hit.

The tactic seemed to work. Alex swung his fist upward, and Starkiller tried to block. The sheer weight of the weapon, though, sent his sword flying out of his hand, and Alex took his opportunity. He swung his left hand in an arc, narrowly missing Starkiller's head as he ducked, then swung his right arm vertically, smashing a hole in the roof where Starkiller had been moments before.

Starkiller was able to learn from the battle too, though. As soon as he had his sword back, he faced Alex and pointed his hands toward him again. Alex heard a rumbling, and he fell through the roof to his waist. Immediately, Starkiller bent over again, and the blue light appeared between his hands.

"Oh, no you don't," Alex muttered, reabsorbing his armor. Now thinner, he fell to the top floor of the building, just as a wave of blue took a large portion of the roof over his head away. Once it passed, Alex jumped back to the roof, shooting the whipfist at Starkiller. Just before it could hit him, Starkiller shot his hands forward, and lightning leapt from his fingers, making Alex's muscles tighten up and sending him to his knees.

Once again, the unseen force lifted him off of his feet, and he could see Starkiller approaching him arrogantly. Alex tried to use his whipfist again, remembering how well it worked the first time, but Starkiller saw it coming, and blasted him away with another wave of bluish light. Alex landed headfirst against the wall of an apartment building a block away, knocking a large hole in it.

"Okay, that's it," he said angrily, getting up slowly. He brushed debris off of his shoulder and sprinted toward the hole he'd made, leaping right at the end to get back to the battle. Before he'd crossed the street, though, something hit his chest and exploded, knocking him into the same building he'd just exited, one floor higher than before. He lifted his head and saw a smoke trail that led from where the explosion had happened into the sky.

"Can't the Blackwatch stay out of anything?" he asked himself.